England 2023/24

[TRF_Olyy]

I might be inclined to leave him on the bench and shove Underhill at 6, possibly Earl at 7 and Mercer at 8. SB quite likes a big unit at 6 and while CCS's line out has improved he's not in the Lawes / Chessum league.

Yeah, Earlderhill/Mercer would be my backrow this summer (well I'm bias and would put BC ahead of Underhill, but other than that )

Shame Pearson has been injured, would've really liked to see him get some time at either 6 or 20

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

There is a possibility of Coles at 6 if you want a similar style player, or ccs who made a great impact but is a different type of player. Ted Hill is also a shout but he did post so poor stats but maybe SB gave him some work ons.

Will be good to have a full choice backrow to pick from some day.

Also I'd agree with SB that Ben needed an extra 5kgs or so. He looked under powered when he played for England last.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Also I'd agree with SB that Ben needed an extra 5kgs or so. He looked under powered when he played for England last.

*cough* most dominant tackler in the sport last year *cough*

Sanderson said he has actually packed on a few KG this season (helped in part by his injury during/post 6N) so we'll see where he stands

Coles could well go to 6 - we ended the 6N with Chessum at 6 and two backrowers on the bench, might be a setup Borthwick is comfortable with/planning to use long term

My preference would be a new 6 and Coles in the 19 shirt though


Outside chance of Barbeary at 8 and a Earlderhill flank partnership?
Be interesting to see where he is in the pecking order after his ban (presumably) cost him a shot at the Six Nations squad
Could be in a similar boat to Hill, though, where his performances catch the eye but the stats behind them aren't great - I remember BT pointing out his defensive stats were quite poor before

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Just read that it's possible that Itoje could reach the maximum games limit making him unavailable to tour.

 

[BPM]

What do people know about England Under 20s captain Finn Carndruff? I see he is 6'4" so not a massive lock but at his age could grow another inch.

Carnduff looks like a very good prospect but he's a 6 who can cover lock rather than vice versa. I can definitely see him as an option on the blindside in years to come, but we're probably a year too soon for England ATM.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Just read that it's possible that Itoje could reach the maximum games limit making him unavailable to tour.

RFU don't care, Steward reached it but was played in the summer before


It's more a guideline I believe

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Bad news for Chessum, Tigers and England - out of the summer tour.

He had a bad ankle injury that had his RWC in doubt for a while. Hope this isn't a recurrence - as far as I can see this latest issue is unspecified.

Shoulder problem apparently.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

RFU don't care, Steward reached it but was played in the summer before


It's more a guideline I believe

Not 100% sure but I thought it was a bit more hard wired than that?

Apparently the RFU had to apply for special dispensation for Steward last year. Not sure exactly what that means but it feels like tail wagging dog.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Not 100% sure but I thought it was a bit more hard wired than that?

Apparently the RFU had to apply for special dispensation for Steward last year. Not sure exactly what that means but it feels like tail wagging dog.

https://archive.ph/Lc3p2


Not so much special dispensation but more Eddie says I want and they pretend to do an evaluation.
If Borthwick really wants Itoje, Itoje will tour

 

[AngloScotsHybrid]

Carnduff looks like a very good prospect but he's a 6 who can cover lock rather than vice versa. I can definitely see him as an option on the blindside in years to come, but we're probably a year too soon for England ATM.

Thank you. We don't seem to produce many pure locks anymore

 

[higgik]

Thank you. We don't seem to produce many pure locks anymore

Tuima???

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Martin has the potential to be one of the best locks in the game - just because he played some backrow while bulking up for the senior game doesn't mean he's not a lock

 

[BPM]

Yeah, I don't know if it's accurate to say we don't produce 'pure locks' anymore. It's not that long ago that we had a pretty enviable roster of locks and we have a few in the wings who look like they could be interesting prospects (Chessum Jnr, Kpoku*, Sodeke etc.).

The fact that Chessum Snr. and Martin are versatile enough to be effective in the back row is a good thing. It doesn't mean they're not locks first and foremost.

Moreover, apart from SA who does? If you think about France's locks over the past few years, Flament and Taofifenua are the only ones who were born and raised in France and Flament definitely isn't a 'pure lock'. Willemse and Le Roux were straight off the Bok production line and Meafou is just a freak. Ireland typically only have a few at a time, hence why they imported Roux, Kleyn, Treadwell etc. Similar for Wales and Scotland (albeit to a lesser extent). The Aussies have the Arnold twins, but the others aren't exceptionally big (Swain, Phillip etc.).

*As long as he doesn't elect to play for France.

 

[LIONSxv]

 

[Not Mike Brown's Sock]

Tbh I'm surprised Murley is even in that mix given how injured he's been

 

[Which Tyler]

It's "per 80" so if you only play once, but have a barnstorming game, you'd expect to top all the stat.s

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Surprised Reed's not on there, but maybe they're counting him as Scottish - feel like he makes a lot more breaks than Roebuck, and has scored more tries than some on there

 

[Reiser99]

Definitely feel like some of those stats lack context, but does give a good general picture. Also it seems to count all stats equally which is debatable.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Definitely feel like some of those stats lack context, but does give a good general picture. Also it seems to count all stats equally which is debatable.

Particularly cokanasiga, his per carry stats are much higher than his total, which implies he doesn't get the ball enough

 

[Scotty]

Freeman plays alot of 13 which i think affects his stats.i think he would be higher if he was just a winger. Which is what i think his best position is tbh.

IFW vs Sleightholm is interesting. Both can make metres in contact and both are bang on form this season. Id hapily have both in for England, Sleightholm for Roebuck in the Squad.

Anyone been watching Segun this season? Never really rated him but stats tell a good story apart from tries. Or is it because he plays for Sarries.

Agree with some posts about context.